Despite progress toward gender equality in medicine over the past few decades, female physicians and researchers continue to face barriers in publishing scholarly work at the same rate as their male counterparts. 

 

Under-representation in medical journals

 

An assessment of female authorship in high-impact pediatric journals found that women were underrepresented among first authors, final authors, and co-authors in every category examined, from scholarly to narrative articles.

Silver JK, Poorman JA, Reilly JM, et al. Assessment of women physicians among authors of perspective-type articles published in high-impact pediatric journals. JAMA Netw Open. 2018;1(3):e180802.

 

Interestingly, it can be particularly difficult for women in their early- to mid-career stages to gain authorship and publication in prestigious journals. In contrast, during training, women in medicine are often able to find male mentors who are well-published, and can serve as co-authors on journal submissions. 

This was certainly the case for me, and all of my early peer-reviewed publications followed this route. 

 

I feel very fortunate for the many male mentors during my early career who made this possible.

However, once a woman becomes an attending physician, perhaps even when managing their own research lab, it can be a steep uphill climb to publish with peer-reviewed journals. 

Gender disparities in journal citations continue to exist, especially in high-impact journals. In a 2021 study, researchers found that, of 5,554 articles, those written by female primary or senior authors had fewer citations than those written by male primary or senior authors.

Chatterjee  P, Werner  RM.  Gender disparities in citations in high-impact journal articles. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(7):e2114509.

Additionally, articles with females as both primary and senior authors were cited approximately half as often as those authored by men as both primary and senior authors. 

 

The researchers concluded that such disparities may be a key contributor to the obstacles faced by women in academic medicine, particularly in relation to career advancement and promotion.

 

Tips for getting published 

 

There are steps women in medicine can take to increase their chances of publication in academic journals. As someone who has been a medical editor, peer reviewer, and chief editor for nearly 2 decades, I have seen a range of successes and pitfalls. 

Make sure your abstract shines

Journal editors are as busy as anyone else these days, and with so many submissions coming across their desks and flooding their inboxes, the abstract is usually their decision point—the key part that can make them decide to read the rest of your manuscript. So make it a good one! Your abstract should be structured, succinct, and provide compelling data and conclusions.

Proofread for typos, grammar, and spelling

This should go without saying, but you would be amazed at how many poorly written manuscripts are submitted daily. With careful proofreading, your research will likely stand out among the rest.

Follow the journal’s submission instructions

These often vary from journal to journal, and include their preferred styles for formatting, structure, figures, and references. If you’re not following their specific instructions, you’re making it very easy for an editor to throw out your submission.

Be prepared to revise

If your manuscript makes it to the peer-review stage, it is likely that some revisions will be requested by both the reviewers and the managing editor. Don’t hesitate to make these revisions—or to explain why you disagree with the requested revisions—and come to an amicable agreement with the editor on an alternative course of action.

Focus your theme

Your paper, whether it represents scholarly research or editorial opinion, should generally have no more than three important points or highlights. What is the theme or key finding you are trying to get across? Make sure this is clear. 

 

System-wide efforts

 

Achieving gender equity in academic medicine will require overcoming implicit biases and dismantling systemic barriers that have disproportionately hindered the advancement of female faculty and researchers. 

For the foreseeable future, it will remain important to continue calling attention to the ongoing publication gap, pressuring the medical community and leaders in academic publishing to make substantive change, while also empowering female physicians and researchers to employ personal strategies to maximize their prospects for success.